Elevated toy railway.



,PATBNTED DEG. 4, 1906.

W. A. LEE.

ELEVATBD TOY RAILWAY.

APPLIOATION rum SEPT. ze. 190e.

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No. 837,480. v VPATENTED DEO. 4, 1906. W. A. LEE.

ELEVATED TOY RAILWAY.

APPLIUATION FILED snP'r. ze. 190e.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AELEVATED TOY RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 4, 1906.

Application filed September 26, 1906. Serial No. 336.356.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LEE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Vashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevated Toy Railways, of which the following is a specification. p

My invention relates to pleasure apparatus or toys; and my object is to provide an elevated railway in which the track is inclined and is adjustable at one end to vary the inclination toward either one or the other end of the apparatus, the adjustment being effected by an elevating means connected with one end of the track and also by automatic means actuated by the impact of the car when it reaches the other end of the track, so that the movable end of the track will automatically fall, the said car being provided with brake mechanism whereby its motion along the track may be controlled by a person seated within the car, or said car may be held at any desired point on the said track by the operation of the brake.

I aim to provide means capable of being folded into a small compass, said means when in extended position serving as a supporting structure for the apparatus.

The invention consists in the features, combination, and arrangement of arts hereinafter described, and particular-l?)T pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying.drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the apparatus set up ready for use. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of parts of the apparatus, showing the action of the car against the releasing mechanism, whereby the inclination of the track is automatically changed. Fig. 3 is an. end view of the car, showing in detail the braking apparatus in its released position. Fig. 4 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of parts shown in Fig. 3, but with the brake set in action. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on line 5 5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a detail view of a modiiied arrangement for holding the track-carrying weight in its uppermost position. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of a modification.

In the drawings, 1 represents the base of the apparatus, which may consist simply of a board, and to this is connected the uprights 3 4. These are hinged at 5 to cross-pieces or blocks 6, carried 3by the base 1. The uprights are held in their extended positions, so as to stretch the wireway between them, by means of any suitable appliances, such as the hooks and eyes 7 8. The wireway upon which the car travels is connected to the post or upright 3 at the point 9, said point being immovable, and at the opposite end the wireway is connected with a weight or carriage 10, adapted to have sliding movement in a slot or way 11, formed in the upright or post 4. This weight or carriage is flanged at 12 to embrace the part 4 of the post 4, and antifriction-rollers 13 are carried by the carriage or weight, so as to bear on the inner side of the bar or member 4 to secure an easy movement thereon. The wireway-carriage or weight is connected with elevating means consisting simply of a rope 14, extending from the weight over a pulley 15, supported at the up er end of the post, and thence downward y, where it is rovided with a handle 16 within easy reac of the operator or child using the toy.

In Fig. 1 the car (represented at 17) is shown at the leftward position of its travel, the weight-carriage being in its lowermost. position. New for sending the carriage toward the opposite end of the apparatus it is simply necessary to pull on the rope 14, and thus elevate the weight in the way or slot formed in the post 4 until the position shown in dotted lines at 18 is reached. When the weight arrives at this point, its lower end will be swung by gravity into a notch or rest 19, formed in the post, so that the lower end of the weightcarriage will be supported by the shoulder 20, formed by the said notch, and thus the wireway will be retained in its uppermost position, so as to cause the car to travel toward the right.

In order to increase the amusement or pleasure afforded by the apparatus, I have provided means whereby the lowering ofthe weight-carriage will be cilected automatically by the action of the car. These means consist of a trip lever or arm 21, suitably pivoted to the post 3 at the right-hand end of the wireway and having a portion extending in proximity to the said wireway, so as to be struck by a portion of the car when it arrives at the right-hand end of said wireway. The impact of the car will cause the lever to be moved toward the right, and this will pull upon a cord or wire 22, connected with the said trip-lever and extending to an automatic release-lever 23, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is pivoted to a bracket 24 of the post or upright 4 and is provided with a finger 25, extending inwardly to engage the weight and IOC IIO

push the same off from the ledge or shoulder 20, whereupon the wirewaycarriage or weight under the action of gravity will immediateiy fall to its lowermost position, (shown in Fig. 1,) so as to incline the wireway downwardly toward the left and in proper position for the immediate return of the car toward the left, if this be desired. This action, it will be noticed, takes place entirely independent of any manipulation on the part of the attendant or child using the toy. Should, however, it be desired to maintain the car at the right-hand end of the wireway after the wireway has been automatically released by the car and has dropped into the position shown in Fig. 1 in full lines, a braking device on the car is brought into use. This braking device consists of a lever 26, pivoted or hinged at 27 to the top vof the car and extending` over the wireway, it being provided with a shoe or block 28 to press upon the wireway and grip the same between itself and the shoe or block 29, secured to the top of the car. The brake-lever extends transversely, and its free end is connected with a link 30, which extends downwardly to a lever 3l, pivoted at one end to the carframe and adapted to be operated by grasping its free end. When this lever is drawn down, the brake-shoe of the lever 26 will press upon the. wireway, and thus arrest the car at any point desired on the said wireway. This brake device is especially useful for holding the car at the right-hand end of the wireway after the latter has been reversed automatically by the action of the said car.

If sulicient force is applied to the brake, the wheel 32 on the car, which bears on the wireway, will be lifted therefrom, and the weight sustained by this wheel will then be transferred to and supported by the frictional contact between the brake-lever and the said wireway, thus producing an absolute drag on the wireway. Y

Instead of employing a weight or wireway carriage in connection with a shouldered portion of the upright or post for holding the said weight in its uppermost position I may employ a gravity-latch 33, pivoted to the post at 34 and having its catch 35 adapted to take under the lower edge of the weight and hold it in its uppermost position. The catch 35 is provided with a beveled end or head,

and the weight is also provided with an inclined portion 36, by which on the upward movement of the weight the gravity-latch will be thrown to one side for the weight to pass by the same. This gravity-latch has an upwardly-extending arm 37 connected with the cord or wire 22 above described, which is operated in a manner similar to that mentioned-that is, by a trip-lever 2l-and when so operated the gravity-latch is released and the wireway-carriage or weight falls.

' In the vmodification just described the post 4 is arranged perpendicular to the base, whereas in the form first described I prefer to incline the post 4 outwardly or backwardly slightly in relation to the said base to better secure the engagement of the weight or wireway-carriage with the shoulder 20.

It will be understood that my invention may be used as a house toy, or it may be used as an outdoor pleasure apparatus for children or adults, and when so used the car is adapted to carry one or more persons who may oper-v ate the braking device while on the car, and thus control the action of the same, as above described.

If desired, suitable means may beprovided to enable the passengers to alight at the right-hand end of the wireway after the triplever has been operated and the wireway has reversed its position, in which case the passengers about to leave the car would set the brake in position to hold the car at that end for return passengers or by releasing the brake allow the car to return to the left for another load.

Inorder to place the action of the apparatus more fully within the control of the child or of the attendant or passenger, I place on the car a device which may be shifted to make the tripping action either effective or ineifective. This device consists of a fork a and is arranged to slide in a bracket b on the car, said fork when up being adapted to engage a button or stop 22X on the cord 22 and operate the gravity-catch or the push-off lever, as the case may be. By sliding this fork downwardly it will be in a position to miss the button or stop, and thus the incline of the wireway will not be changed and the car will remain at the lower end of the wireway until the catch is released, which may be eected by hand.

It will be understood that the braking mechanism and the fork or slidefor the hit-ormiss action are embodied in the same apparatus.

I claim as my inventionl. In an apparatus of the class described, a base, a pair of folding uprights, a wireway secured to one of said uprights, a weight forming a carrier for the other end of the wireway and adapted to slide up and down along the other upright, and means for raising the wireway-carrier or weight and fory holding it in its uppermost position, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the uprights, the wireway fixed at one end, the weighted carrier for the op osite end of the wireway adapted to slide a ong the other upright, means for holding the weight in its uppermost position, means at the opposite end of the wireway operated by the impact of the car for automatically releasing the Weight from said holding means to allow the Weight to drop, and a IOO IIO

brake on the car with means for operating the same, whereby the said car may be held adj acent the trip device when the inclination of the wireway is reversed, substantially as described.

3. In combination, in apparatus of the class described, a post, a weight sliding in the way therein, a recess providing a shoulder upon which the said weight may be supported, a wireway connected to the weight, a car, a trip device to be operated by the car, and means connected with the said trip for pushing the weight from the shoulder, substantially as described.

4. In combination, an apparatus of the class described7 a base, a wireway, uprights for holding thewireway, said uprights being 'operated to fold inwardly toward each other,

and means on the outer sides of the said uprights for holding them in elevated position, substantially as described.

5. In combination in an apparatus oi the class described, a wireway having one end lixed and the other movable, means Jfor holding the movable end up, and means for releasing said holding means to permit the wireway to fall, said releasing means comprising' an adjustable device on the car whereby the reversing of the wireway is at the will of the operator, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM A. LEE.

I/Vitnesses:

HENRY E. COOPER, 0. S. MIDDLETON. 

